Week 6 Fasting Guide

Week 6

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…

When I was in grade school, I can remember time and time again when we would do our best to hurt each other’s feelings by trying to say the meanest thing we could think of.  You know how this goes.  One person says something about you.   You respond with an, “Oh yeah…”  On and on it goes.  Eventually, as if trying to convince yourself what had been said about you wasn’t true or hurtful, someone would say, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!”

And yet, how much power do our words carry to either build someone up or destroy their self-esteem and worth?  As we grow older, we begin to learn to avoid confrontation.  But that does not mean we cease to say hurtful things about people.  But instead of the, “Oh yeah’s”, it now sounds a little more like, “Have you heard about so and so?” 

Gossip.  Talking about someone instead of to someone.  These backdoor conversations are destroying our churches left and right.  They create the very division we spent last week talking about and leave deep wounds, whether we know it or not.  The way we talk about people is just as hurtful as if we were saying those things to them.  This week, you are going to be challenged to give up talking about people and learn to talk to people. 

·      Week 6 Fast:  Gossip.  Give up sharing all those juicy stories about the people of our community.  If you are going to share a story about someone you know is not a positive reflection on them, choose not to tell it.  Find a way this week to stop this destructive habit.

·      Fast Challenge:  What good is giving up talking about people if we can’t also learn how to talk to people?  Here’s your challenge.  The first half of your challenge is to thank someone this week for the example of Christ they have set for you.  The second half of your challenge is this: when you are tempted to say something about somebody, instead of telling someone else, go and ask them about it.  Don’t assume you know all the reasons for what has happened.  Be willing to talk about what’s going on to the person it involves or don’t say anything at all. 

·      Prayer Focus: Each day of our fast you will be challenged to pray the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13).  Each week there will be a different emphasis of prayer.  This week ask God for the courage to stop talking about people, as fun as the juicy stories can be to tell.  Ask God to help you confront those you’d rather talk about, or ask him to help you learn how to heap praises and thanksgiving on people instead of burning coals.